Offers a brief sampling of four essays describing a variety of approaches to argument and persuasion. Reiterates some useful definitions and distinctions, discusses classical rhetoric, connects the teaching of argument to eleventh grade U.S. literature, and shows how to teach students to respond to literature by asking "why" questions…

Examines some emblematic job advertisements published in the MLA Job Information List during the past two years and argues that the majority of these advertisements militate against writing program administrators' professional advancement. (MG)

Asserts that using popular music to introduce such concepts as irony, artistic influence, or the appropriation of cultural materials is a logical way to interest students and help them make connections and understand new material quickly, efficiently, and pleasantly. Outlines an approach to teaching English that uses music as a chief source of…

Provides tips for comic book writing that have been gathered from actual comic book authors and can be used in minilessons for writing workshops in the classroom. Focuses on five specific components of comic book writing: plot development, layout, drawing, narration, and the cover page. (MG)

Examines whether collaborative writing projects force students to reflect critically on their own ideas. Finds that collaboration does not guarantee reflection. Suggests that how students represent collaboration and the writing assignment itself determines whether and how they reflect on their own ideas. (PRA)

Discusses the need for reading anthologies that not only contain the works of female writers but also works that do not specifically deal with women's issues. Outlines the problem as it exists in magazines, newspapers, and other media. Discusses modal versus thematic organization in writing and areas of traditional female concern. (PRA)

Proposes a set of strategies for connecting reading and writing, placing the discussion in the context of other pedagogical approaches designed to exploit the relationship between reading and writing. Explores ways in which students employ the strategies involved in "mining" a text--reconstructing context, inferring or imposing structure, and…

Describes how a writing teacher used "magic slates" to help at-risk students overcome their fear of writing. (PRA)

Key concepts of Barthes' textual analysis are used to examine the links among speech (teaching), writing (research), listening (learning), and reading (study), and to portray the encounters of pairs of these as illustrating issues in educational research. An example of annotated "oral writing" or "writing of teaching" is…

Indicates why a dialog between the fields of linguistics and literary study has been limited in the past. Argues that recent fundamental changes in both domains give reason to think that conditions are now much more auspicious for concerted interaction, which would prove useful and important. (HB)

Describes in detail the functions and applications of a computer software program called "ClassWriter" that sets up networked electronic space in which computer conversations can take place. Outlines ways of using the program in the writing classroom. (HB)

Considers the relevance of gender in the teaching of composition as a professional field. Contrasts the cultural images of the male versus the female teacher. Challenges such constructs to posit new images of teaching and teachers, especially with regard to women teachers. (HB)

Argues for the consideration of food and gastronomy in the teaching of English in high schools. Provides methods of teaching writing in conjunction with student response to eating. (HB)

Describes the healthy discussions currently being undertaken concerning the teaching of grammar by English teachers. Argues for a variety of effective ways of teaching grammar. Gives attention to psycholinguistic models of grammar. (HB)

Describes a writing assignment in which a teacher asked students to prepare a one-page autobiography written in E-Prime, a form of English deleting all forms of the verb "to be." Presents student comments that suggest that the assignment was highly beneficial. (HB)